About My Book

My name is Justus Ndukaife, and I am the author of Becoming Plastic: How A Miracle Material Became an Invisible Problem and the Science That Will Help Us. I wrote this book because, a few years ago, I learned that babies may be ingesting millions of microplastic particles simply from heating formula in plastic bottles. As I dug deeper, I discovered that beyond microplastics lie even smaller fragments known as nanoplastics—particles hundreds to thousands of times thinner than a human hair and invisible to the human eye. That’s when I realized how unprepared we truly are to measure our exposure to these invisible nanoplastics in different sources.

My hope is that, in reading this book, you will gain a clear, science-based understanding of where micro and nanoplastics come from, how they move through our environment and bodies, and why their smallest forms, namely nanoplastics demand urgent attention. In this book, I hope to instill in you the same sort of passion and excitement that I have for tackling the problem of micro and nanoplastics, and how latest technological advances can enable us to effectively monitor for them in food, drinking water, and human blood, and guide informed choices around plastics use. I also hope to share the excitement of scientific discovery—how cutting-edge advances in nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence are finally allowing us to visualize and measure what was once invisible, empowering smarter personal decisions, safer product design, and better public policy.

Ultimately, I hope you see this book as both a lens and a guide: a clear and thoughtful explanation of the full scope of plastic pollution, paired with concrete, science-backed steps you can take to reduce everyday exposure to micro and nanoplastics—along with how next-generation technologies can help meet future monitoring needs in drinking water, blood, and the environment.

In this book, you’ll learn about microplastics and nanoplastics, why the smallest particles (nanoplastics) pose the greatest biological risk, and how they leach into drinking water, coffee, tea, and baby formula during ordinary product use:

• Visually-compelling evidence showing how nanoplastics leach into water from common food-contact plastics.
• The different organs and tissues where micro- and nanoplastics have now been detected—including the placenta, brain, lungs, blood, and reproductive organs.
• The latest advances in nanotechnology and AI now being used to visualize and identify invisible nanoplastics in real samples.
• Emerging approaches to filtering micro and nanoplastics from water and blood, with a practical checklist for evaluating and selecting future services.

You will love this book if you:

• Are a parent, expecting parent, or caregiver seeking science-backed ways to protect young children from early exposure.
• Are a policymaker seeking clear, visual, evidence-driven guidance for effective policies around micro- and nanoplastics.
• Are a water utility operator seeking next-generation detection technologies for detecting nanoplastics in drinking water and ensure removal.
• Are a producer or materials innovator reimagining food and drink packaging and related products with alternative eco-friendly materials beyond conventional plastics.

Becoming Plastic is written in [3] Parts:

Part [1] contains the introduction + additional chapters. It covers the history of plastics, why current recycling campaign is inefficient, how plastics rose to dominate modern life, and how that success unintentionally created a vast, burden of microplastics- and invisible nanoplastics that now permeates our environment and bodies. They became widely used and how they produce micro and nanoplastics in the environment. This part also reveals why nanoplastics behave differently from microplastics, and pose fundamentally new challenges.

Part [2] contains Chapters [4-7]. It covers how we are exposed to micro and nanoplastics and how they enter the human body. It also covers the state of knowledge on how they can negatively impact human health. This chapter also covers latest technological advancements showcasing how we can now visualize nanoplastics in different sources and even show them leaching from food and drink contact plastic materials. 

Part [3] contains Chapters [8-12]. This section offers hope and action. In this section, readers discover practical, science-backed strategies for reducing everyday exposure to micro and nanoplastics at home, at work, and through consumer choices—along with how to critically evaluate emerging approaches to detect and potentially remove micro and nanoplastics from blood and select suitable service options. 

Launch Ticket Perks & Exclusive Packages

Everyone who purchases during my presale will receive:

• A physical copy (paperback) or digital copy (ebook) when I publish in Summer 2026.
• The opportunity to have your name featured in the Acknowledgements section of my book (“with Special Thanks to”). 
• You will be invited to join my Author Community and get behind-the-scenes sneak peeks into the publishing process.
• You will have the opportunity to be involved in finalizing my cover.
• Early access to the Introduction and select excerpts near the final draft.
• And more!

Other Ways to Support Me

Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

• Please share my presale campaign on X and LinkedIn with your friends, family and network. Please use #BecomingPlastic and #Nanoplastics and tag me so we can help amplify your efforts.
• Please recommend my book to five (5) friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it via text or direct message on social media.

Thank you so much for all of your love and support!

Thanks again,
Justus Ndukaife

More About My Publishing Journey

My publisher (Manuscripts) gave me a publishing team to help me produce and launch my book. I am working with:

• A revisions editor, copy editor, and proofreader this winter to further hone my book (when you buy a copy during my presale, you’ll get early excerpts and access to earlier versions of my manuscript!)
• A marketing specialist to coach and support me in marketing efforts, and help me reach new audiences
• A cover artist and layout editor who will be designing my book. (The mockups you see currently are a placeholder!)

About The Author

Justus C. Ndukaife, Ph.D., is a Chancellor Faculty Fellow and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is internationally recognized for pioneering a new generation of optical nanotweezers—light-powered tools capable of trapping, imaging, and analyzing nanoscale objects far beyond the reach of conventional light microscopes. His work is transforming how scientists can detect and understand nanoplastics in water, the environment, and even the human body.

Ndukaife’s research has been featured in leading journals including Nature Nanotechnology, Science, Nature Communications, Nano Letters, Physical Review Letters, and several others. He is an inventor of seven U.S. patents related to optical nanotweezer technologies.

His innovations have earned major honors such as the NSF CAREER Award, NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award, 2024 ONR Young Investigator Program Award (for which he was among 24 researchers selected across the USA), the Optica Kaminow Early Career Prize, Optica Ambassador recognition, the NSBE Golden Torch Award, the Chorafas Prize in Physics, and others. His widely viewed iCANX lecture on optical nanotweezers has reached more than 260,000 viewers worldwide. When he is not in the lab, mentoring students, or speaking at conferences and other forums, Ndukaife enjoys spending time with his wife and children. 

For more information, you can connect with Justus on LinkedIn and X.

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